AFTER separating from his wife and his house burning down on Christmas Day, Eric Jones would be the first to admit it has been a tough year.

But the Connah's Quay man forgot all that on Wednesday night when he saw his grandson line up in the Champions League match at Highbury, home of Arsenal FC.

Eric had beaten 50,000 others in a national competition allowing eight-year-old Jake Jones, of Broughton, to be a mascot in the Londoners' match against Ajax Amsterdam.

The prize included an all-expenses-paid trip for two to London stopping at the Hilton hotel, VIP tickets to the match, limousine travel to and from the ground - and for Jake the chance to fulfil every boyhood dream.

He was the captain's mascot, which saw him dressed in an Arsenal kit and line-up for team photos with the legendary Dutch team.

But Eric decided to let his son, Jake's father Nigel, have the other ticket.

'It was great to see the smile on Jake's face when I told him I'd won this competition,' said Eric.

'But they only had two VIP tickets and I thought it was more important for father to bond with son than for me to go.'

So Eric watched the match - which turned out to be a goalless draw - from the comfort of his home in Deeside; a miracle in itself.

Shortly after Eric separated from his wife last year, came Christmas. At

8.30pm that day, an electrical fault in Eric's fridge sparked a fire at his Oakwood Villas home.

While the fire was confined to the kitchen, the rest of the house suffered 100% smoke damage.

His generous insurance firm put Eric up in the De Vere St David's Park Hotel in Ewloe, while arrangements were made to sort out his home.

As time dragged on, however, he began missing his simple home comforts, like making tea. 'There's a limit to how much fillet steak a man can eat,' he said.

Eric's now back in his home after £130,000 worth of repairs, but does not waste much time reflecting on the past 12 months.

'I have done all my crying,' he said. 'But I guess this is a good ending to what has been a pretty bad year.'

Eric won the prize for Jake, who attends Broughton Primary School, after entering a competition in a national newspaper.